Friendly: Barcelona 1 Man. United 0

Manchester United suffered a first defeat of Tour 2017, presented by Aon, but it mattered little as Jose Mourinho was left to reflect on an extremely positive and productive stay in the United States.

After claiming four wins from the opening four tour matches, the Reds were narrowly beaten by Barcelona at FedEx Field, courtesy of a first-half strike by Neymar.

David De Gea had to be alert in the opening exchanges, making smart saves from the matchwinner and Lionel Messi, and another excellent stop to thwart Luis Suarez.

The Spain goalkeeper needed the help of the post on 13 minutes when Messi took aim from the edge of the area, as the effort cannoned off the outside of the woodwork.

After soaking up some early pressure, Paul Pogba unleashed a powerful shot which was claimed by Barcelona goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen, before Henrikh Mkhitaryan fired another attempt just wide of the post. Jesse Lingard then tried his luck from distance but saw the ball deflected wide.

The Reds were visibly growing in confidence and Marcus Rashford dribbled into the box but could only shoot straight at the well-placed Cillessen.

A minute after the half-hour mark, Barcelona took the lead. Having denied Neymar a few minutes earlier, De Gea was powerless when Antonio Valencia lost his footing and the Brazilian star took full advantage to slot home from close range.

Messi fired a free-kick just over the bar soon after, before Suarez forced De Gea into another top save with a shot on the turn.

Pogba’s dangerous centre almost found Romelu Lukaku, but the Belgium striker just couldn’t stretch to make it.

Both sides made changes at the break, with Barcelona replacing all 10 outfield players. After a somewhat subdued start to the second period, substitute Anthony Martial flashed an effort over, before Sergio Romero dived to his left to brilliantly deny Paco Alcacer.

Andreas Pereira tried his luck twice from outside the box but saw the first shot fly over and the second one well claimed by Cillessen. Seconds later, the Barca keeper denied Pogba after a driving run forward. Despite further pressure from the Reds, Barça held out for the win, with Neymar's strike ultimately proving decisive.

THE LINE-UPS

United: De Gea (Romero 46), Valencia (Tuanzebe 84), Smalling (Bailly 46), Lindelof (Jones 46), Blind (Darmian 46), Carrick (c) (Fellaini 46), Pogba, Mkhitaryan (A. Pereira 62), Rashford, Lingard (Martial 62), Lukaku.

Substitutes: J. Pereira, Fosu-Mensah, Mitchell, McTominay.

Booked: Fellaini

Barcelona first half: Cillessen, Semedo, Umtiti, Mascherano, Jordi Alba, Busquets, Alena, Rakitic, Messi (c), Neymar, Suarez.

Barcelona second half: Cillessen, Pique, Denis, Arda, Iniesta, Vermaelen, Alcacer, Digne, Roberto (Samper 85), A.Vidal, Munir.

TALKING POINT - WHICH TOUR MATCH HAS BEEN THE BEST?

While Jose Mourinho has always insisted results do not matter to him during pre-season, the United manager will still have been pleased to see his players leave the States with an impressive four wins from five matches. But which match did you enjoy the most? Five goals against LA Galaxy were great to watch, while the win over Real Salt Lake was notable for Romelu Lukaku's first strike as a Red. Winning the first Manchester derby on foreign soil was very satisfying and a victory against Real Madrid, albeit on penalties, in the dress rehearsal for the UEFA Super Cup was an enjoyable one for fans. Losing to Barça in the final match was a slight blot on the tour copybook but overall, as Mourinho himself told MUTV and reporters a few days ago, the trip as a whole has been "perfect".

INJURED PLAYERS MAKING PROGRESS

Juan Mata and Ashley Young arrived at the stadium ahead of the rest of the squad and the pair were joined on the pitch by one of the medical staff for some light training, which included some work with the ball. Mourinho told MUTV on Tuesday that Mata is expected to be back for Sunday’s trip to Oslo, as is Ander Herrera, who was forced off against Real Madrid. Meanwhile, the United boss suggested Young will return in October and it was certainly great to see him and Mata back with a ball at their feet.

TRENDING TOPIC

#MUTOUR was once again a popular topic on social media as the Reds played the final match in the US. Predictably, after his first-half theatrics, #DeGea was the man everyone was tweeting about, while #Rashford, after his impressive effort in the opening half, also featured as did #Suarez.

TOUR 2017 NOT OVER YET

This might be United's last tour match in the States, but it's not the final one of Tour 2017, presented by Aon. Next up for the Reds is a trip to Oslo on Sunday to face Norwegian side Valerenga, before a final friendly in Dublin against Italian outfit Sampdoria. Jose Mourinho's men can claim a first trophy of the season on 8 August when the Reds face Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup final, then the campaign begins for real.